29/10/2026
AI is challenging most jobs, not fair devs. And, to me, PM should earnestly worrry.
Code spitters are cooked, let's be honest current and obtain the destiny so everyone can move on.
Architects aren't, since any the accuracy of any model, making it serves you need inside the constraints of safety + compliance + specialized capabilities + prosperity + ... requires personal data, interpersonal meetings and skills that create it difficult or unattainable to automate today.
genAI, to me, feels akin the identical danger as Instagram for expert photographs: 90% of photographs misplaced their moat against 16 yo taking pictures alongside their phones. The remaining 10% unlocked equal additional value since of their talent, that could not be copied.
Now, genAI is threatening devs in the identical way: mediocre akin me won't last against 10x developers supercharged alongside AI (until they additionally get replaced by supercharged AI agents. But wait? Until they additionally get replaced by supercharged AI swarms with... bref!)
But it's not fair devs, intellect you! PMs are additionally seriously endangered for the identical reasons: whenever any PM can fair immediate a feature, what happens whenever a dev immediate a characteristic too? It's up to you to think that PM are improved armed whenever it comes to understanding why a characteristic create awareness than a developer. What's happening, though, and if you are doing things right, is that the identical individual coding a characteristic can additionally build PM intuition as to why this characteristic needs to be built at all. The second comes from LLM. Because since code is cheap, there's additional period to allocate in understanding the client ache item and the business resolution (not fair the soft: the scheme trade-offs, what were the assumptions 10 years ago versus today, etc...)
I grew up alongside the difference of "tech guy" needs a "product guy". I am not dismissing it, I am fair saying that the earth is entering into a phase anywhere the two roles are eventually liquefying into a sole function.
And that the merchandise guy, any his seniority, have to be earnestly worried*unless he can display architecture skills, which is among the final bastion of individual intelligence.
For the purpose of transparency, I am a programmer, I've developed data promotion products for the final four years before moving to Cloudflare to activity on their, lately acquired, YC business Zaraz.
To near on a additional individual note, that doesn't average I am current to judge: the earth is *definitely not* operating the way I'd akin concerning genAI use and I am fair fearful that "part" and afterward "our whole" occupation disappear. I conjecture that PMs have to be a small additional self-aware and commencement consolidating skills that volition work. Like analysing a content file, alongside a tongue that lets you do it in fair 14 lines of codes
